Brothers in Arms
by Crimsarious
Summary: During an unplanned, and unwanted, visit to the Overwatch base in Zürich, Jack Morrison does Gabriel Reyes the last injustice before the Blackwatch Commander decides to take justice into his own hands and pay Jack a visit. (Very slight AU)
1. A Souring Relationship

**A/N: Hello, and welcome to my very first fanfiction. This is mainly going to be my version of the battle between Jack Morrison and Gabriel Reyes, at the Swiss Headquarters, that would lead to them becoming Soldier 76 and Reaper. However, these first chapters will mostly focus on Reyes, and why he did what he did.  
Whether this is good, bad, or somewhere in between, you decide, but I enjoyed writing it, and I hope you enjoy reading it!**

* * *

The darkness was the only thing Gabriel liked about his temporary room.

Albeit him and his squad had shown up unannounced, they could still have given the commander of Blackwatch a room with more than 20 square meters of space, for both bathroom and bedroom.

He sighed, as he re-read the report that had landed on his desk this very morning. A member of a small terrorist group, he'd been tracking for almost 3 months, had finally, after much "convincing", said that they were going to hit a major city in Austria.

He instantly jumped at the chance to take them out, but there were complications along the way. During a powerful storm, lightning struck one of the engines, and they were forced to make an emergency landing at Overwatch's base in Zürich, so it could be repaired.

And now he could do nothing but sit and be useless.

Eventually, he realized that he would assemble his squad, so they could discuss the situation. They might as well do something while they were here.

"Everyone, come to the hangar. Now." Gabriel said, into his wristwatch. The message was short and simple, like most of his messages.

He rubbed his goatee, before getting out of the chair. He took the report under his arm, and exited the room.

Unlike his room, the hallways of the base were brightly lid, even though it was early in the evening.

He let out another sigh, as he walked down the hallways. He didn't exactly like being in the same building as Jack.

They'd started out as mutual friends, when they were both thrown from the Soldier Enhancement Program into Overwatch, during the Omnic Crisis. Over the war, they'd grown so close that they were almost brothers.

However, their friendship was quickly shattered when Jack was given the title of Strike Commander, and Gabriel was given Blackwatch.

While Gabriel did appreciate the removal of red tape in Blackwatch, it was still just a small branch of Overwatch. Which Jack was in charge of, and not Gabriel, who'd led it through the Omnic Crisis.

Their relationship had continued to sour, and they hadn't exactly left off on a good note.

Gabriel still remembered the last time he'd spoken to Jack. It was about two weeks ago, and they were supposed to go to a press conference, to try and defend Blackwatch's actions. But Gabriel didn't show up. And later that day, he got a call from Jack.

* * *

"What the hell were you thinking, not showing up?!" Jack almost shouted over holo.

"What was I supposed to do there? Say we actually did the things they're mad about? Because we did." Gabriel replied coldly.

"Well, why did you do those things?" The Strike Commander asked, in a lower voice.

"To complete our missions fast and efficient." Gabriel answered, continuing to keep up his cold demeanor.

"Well then say that to them, and give them something, other than absence! They'll think you don't care about the accusations!" Jack tried, but Gabriel simply replied with "I don't."

The Strike Commander let out a loud sigh of frustration, before asking "And why not?"

"Because I know that once the general population see someone as an enemy, then it'll take a lot more than that person saying 'I didn't do it' to convince them otherwise." Gabriel spat back, as he began to get tired of this conversation.

There was a short silence before Gabriel continued. "Blackwatch is doomed. And instead of trying to fight the inevetable, I'm doing what good I can in whatever time I have left."

Jack buried his face in his hands, and let out an even louder sigh of frustration.

"You know, Gabriel, I could choose to leave you to fix this mess. But I don't. I'm trying to help you, when..."

"Of course your helping me. Jack Morrison, the white knight on the shining steed, coming in to save everyone, and then reap the rewards for himself." Gabriel rudely interrupted.

"Gabe..." Jack tried, but Gabriel cut him off. "I don't need your 'help'." He said, with venom dripping from every word, as he coldly ended the call.

* * *

Gabriel quickly shook of the memory. In his eyes, he'd spoken the truth to Morrison, and he wasn't going to apologize because the boy-scout couldn't handle it.

He continued walking, and eventually he reached the hangar with his ship. He pushed a button on the side, and the door slid open, revealing a rather large area filled several overwatch dropships, as well as a few jets and choppers.

Gabriel quickly found his ship, since it stuck out like a sore thumb, with its night-black painting, among all the crystal-white overwatch ships.

As he approached the Blackwatch dropship, he noticed something odd. Everyone in his squad always were in it, because they always followed his orders. However when he approached the dropship, he could only see a single person from his squad.

* * *

 **A/N: And that's the first chapter done. I expect the next chapter will come pretty soon, though I'm not sure exactly how long. Reviews are also greatly appreciated, since I'm always looking to improve my writing skills. Thanks.**


	2. The Final Straw

**A/N: And here's the second chapter. To be honest, I don't really have anything special to say, other than I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

* * *

"Where the hell is everyone?" Gabriel demanded, as he approached the Blackwatch dropship.

The one operative present turned her head, and Gabriel immediately recognized the blond hair and slim figur of Emily.

Though she'd only been in his squad for about 2 months, she'd already made a name for herself as a genius with both strategy and all sorts of gadgets. There was also a rumor running around that she had a crush on Gabriel, but neither of them acknowledged it.

"You haven't heard?" She asked carefully, since she knew how dangerous the commander was when he was angry. And she knew this would make him furious.

"Apparently not." He responded.

"Then you better hear this." Emily said, as she brought up her wristwatch, and played a message.

"Attention all recently arrived Blackwatch operatives." Jack's voice suddenly said, from her wristwatch, followed by a second of silence.

"What does he need my guys for?" Gabriel asked, but Emily simply held up a finger, signaling him to be quiet. He crossed his arms, and listened as Jack's voice once again spoke.

"I know you didn't plan to come here, and that you have a mission to complete. However, we need extra men for a important assignment, and you're the most qualified. Report to the debriefing room immediately."

The message ended, and Emily looked at Reyes, with a bit of sympathy. She could see he was taking it pretty hard, practically getting his entire squad stolen.

His breathing began to get intense, as his eyes were filled with anger. "That..." he said, through gritted teeth.

He began quickly pacing around, as he seemed to have trouble keeping an immense amount of anger down. "That..." He repeated, as several of the repair technicians slowly began walking away, until only Gabriel and Emily was left.

Finally, his anger reached a boiling point, as punched the side of the ship, with immense strengh, as he shouted "THAT FUCKER!"

There was a moment of silence, where nothing could be heard, except Gabriel's heavy panting. Finally, he looked at where he'd hit the ship, only to see that he'd punched a hole straight through the armor.

He slowly pulled out his fist, as he gradually got his breath under control. Suddenly, he realized something and looked at Emily. "You disobeyed him?" Gabriel asked. "Yes." She simply answered.

"Why?" Gabriel asked, since he didn't quite know why she was the only one who disobeyed Jack's orders. "I joined Blackwatch for a reason. That reason isn't so that I could be just another Overwatch soldier." She answered, showing great loyalty to Gabriel, and Blackwatch in general.

There was a short break, until Gabriel finally said "Thanks."

He looked at the hole he punched in the plane, and as he looked at it, it jogged his memory. He'd been angry like this before, but only one time had he been more angry. And that was the day him and Jack's relationship shattered, and he got demoted from leader of Overwatch, to commander of Blackwatch.

* * *

The debriefing room was quiet. Though five, usually talkative, people were in the room, no one said a word. Everyone simply looked at one of the ends, where Gabriel Reyes was sitting.

Around the table was the original Overwatch team: Jack Morrison, Ana Amari, Torbjörn Lindholm, Reinhardt Wilhelm and Gabriel Reyes, the last if which had just been given the news of his demotion.

Everyone looked anxiously at their former leader, since they all knew he could be dangerous when he was angry.

However, so far he hadn't made any drastic moves, he'd simply been sitting and thinking, which for some reason unnerved the others more.

Eventually, he raised his head, and stared right into Jack's eyes. His stare was filled with a mix of rage, betrayal and sadness.

He looked to Jack's right, and gave Ana the same stare. He looked further to the right, and met Reinhardt's eyes.

After what felt like an eternity for the crusader, Gabriel shifted his gaze to Torbjörn, and eventually back to Jack.

There was a moment of silence, before Gabriel finally spoke. "What did I do?" He almost whispered. "Come Again?" Jack asked.

"What the fuck did I do to deserve this?!" Gabriel said in a surprinsingly loud voice. In one voilent motion, he stood up from his chair, knocking it several meters back. Jack rose a hand to try and silence Gabriel, but he had only just started.

"I gave EVERYTHING to this! I gave my time, I gave my resources, I gave my FUCKING HUMANITY, when I let the government pump me full of gods-knows-what! I gave my ENTIRE LIFE to this cause, AND THIS IS HOW YOU REWARD ME!"

"Gabriel please, just..." Ana tried, but Gabriel cut her off. "Don't you say ANYTHING to me, Amari!" Everyone could see Gabriel's muscles beginning to tense, as he continued ranting.

"You've always taken HIS side!" He said as he pointed at Jack. "You've always defended HIM when he needed it. In fact, I could say that to EVERYONE in here! You've always defended him, but what do you do, when I need help? NOTHING! NO ONE has EVER stuck up for me! WHY?! Even with everything I've done, you still want ME gone! Well FINE, let grant your wish." And with that, he left the room.

There was a few seconds of complete silence, before Ana finally broke it. "I'm gunna go check on him." "Sure." Was all Jack could say, since he was still a bit overwhelmed by Gabriel's rant.

As she opened the door, she heard Reinhardts voice behind her. "Be careful." She nodded as she exited the room.

* * *

"... Commander?" Emily's voice shook Gabriel out of his memory.

"What?" He asked, slightly dazed. "I asked about what we're gunna do now." Emily explained, and Gabriel thought about for a second.

Eventually, he went towards the dropship, and opened one of the containers. He pulled out four devices, put one in his pocket, and gave Emily the others, as he said "I need you to do something."


	3. Reminiscing and Reassuring

The darkness of Gabriel's room was briefly broken, as the Blackwatch commander opened the door, letting light from the hallway in. However, the darkness was quickly restored, as he closed the door, leaving him alone in his room.

He'd sent Emily down to the central reactor for the base, while he himself went back to his room to prepare.

He went over to his desk, and quickly found what he deemed necessary: A few grenades, an EMP, a small handgun and his most trusted weapons: His dual shotguns.

The Blackwatch commander hung the shotguns at his hips, like he'd done countless times in the past, and put everything else in his different pockets.

He started turning towards the door, but was stopped when he saw his reflection in the mirror.

He was already wearing full combat armor, since he'd planned to fly directly to the terrorists' headquarters. No one was going to not notice, if he walked around the base in full combat armor, as well as being armed to the teeth. He realized he had to hide it, at least until he reached Jack's office.

He looked around the room, and eventually found a closet, he assmued must have something he could use. However, as he opened it, he saw mostly ordinary overwatch uniforms.

That, obviously, wasn't going to work so he dug deeper into the closet, and eventually found a black trenchcoat.

He tried putting it on, and once he turned to towards the mirror, he realized that, along with hiding his shotguns, it actually looked good on him, in his opinion. He decided to look into getting one, if he survived what he was planning to do.

Gabriel sighed, as he crossed his arms. While he continued looking into the mirror, his thoughts slowly began to drift away, and he, unwillingly, returned to the memory he'd been shaken out of in the hangar. When Ana tried to calm him down.

* * *

The enraged Gabriel, heard the door open behind him, but he didn't care about who it was. He just needed to get away.

"Gabriel." He heard Ana call behind him, but he simply ignored her.

"Gabriel!" She tried again, louder, and this time it worked. He turned around and looked her directly in the eyes, as he almost hissed "What?"

She took a deep breath, before slowly saying "Just... calm down, and allow us to try and explain this."

"Ok then." Gabriel said, still in the same hostile voice. "Try and explain 'this'."

The newly appointed second in comand, carefully began walking towards Gabriel, as she tried explaining. "It's just... you aren't bad at what you do. In fact, you're really good at it, all of us still being here proves that. But, the way you handle assigments, would be better in a black ops division, rather than in full light of the public. And while you're there, Jack will take good care of Overwatch."

She stopped and looked at Gabriel, with a bit of sympathy, as she asked "Does that clear it?"

However, to her surprise, Gabriel didn't answer. He simply continued looking at her with crossed arms, and an incredily angry expression on his face.

They stood like that for the longest seconds in Ana's life, but Gabriel eventually un-crossed his arms, and slowly walked closer to her, only stopping about 1 meter away from her.

"Not everything." He suddenly said.

"What do you mean?" Ana asked, clearly confused over Gabriel's cryptic answer.

"What you just said a few seconds ago. That doesn't clear everything." He explained, in a cold tone, yet she could still hear the anger in his voice.

"Well, what did I miss?" She asked, still confused over what Gabriel meant.

"What you missed?" Gabriel hissed, as the anger in his voice became more clear.

In a swift and violent motion, Gabriel suddenly grabbed her shoulders, and thrust her against the wall, left for him, as he shouted "Does my problems and concerns mean so little, you just forget them after a couple of seconds?!"

She hit the wall, and looked up at Gabriel, who glared back with immense anger. She'd hoped he would see her as his old friend, but she now understood that, in his rage, he only saw her as another person who'd done him an injustice.

He pointed behind him, towards the debriefing room. "I'm talking about what I said to you in there! Do you have an explanation for THAT?! The fact that EVERYONE ALWAYS takes Jack's side?! That I didn't get a SINGLE SAY in this matter, that MEANS JUST AS MUCH TO ME AS EVERYONE?! That my reward, for giving EVERYTHING to this, is to not have ANY influence?!"

As Gabriel briefly stopped ranting, he looked at Ana, wanting her to answer. However, his rant had completetly taken her aback, so she only managed to say "I... I didn't... We thought..."

Gabriel heard a small click behind him, but he didn't take notice since his rage briefly boiled over, and he flung his arm, hitting the wall right next to Ana's head. "ANSWER ME!" He shouted, in his uncontrollable rage, however, all he got from Ana was a surprised look.

He continued keeping his hand in the small crater, he made in the wall, as he hissed, through gritted teeth "Answer me."

A short second passed, but Ana eventually managed to regain her focus, and returned Gabriel's glare with a stern look.

She thought about what to say, for a few seconds, but eventually answered Gabriel.

"Have you ever thought this might be the reason?" She asked, and Gabriel's expression turned from furious to confused.

"What the hell do you mean?" He asked back, still with anger in his voice, but not as much as before.

"Your temper." Ana explained. "Have you ever thougth you weren't the right person to lead Overwatch, because of how quickly you get angry? It doesn't take much more than a single disagreement, for you to shout at everyone, and that's not something a strike commander should do."

When she said that, Gabriel's anger returned, in full force, and boiled over again. In one quick motion, he grapped Ana by the throat. She instinctively tried grabbing his arm, to try and get free, however, she was no match for someone who'd been through the Soldier Enhancement Program.

As Gabriel held her, by the throat, he leaned in uncomfortably close to her face, as he hissed "You dare say that to my face?"

Gabriel's muscles slowly began tensing again, as he continued. "That one single flaw..." However, he was cut short, when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, which forcefully turned him around, where a fist connected with his face.

He fell on his knees, as he carefully tried feelig the damage to his face. His nose was broken, but nothing else seemed to have been hit.

At first, Gabriel didn't know who'd hit him, however, he quickly found out, when he heard Jack's voice behind him. "You okay?"

"Yes. He didn't try anything too bad." Ana responded, and even though he was kneeling on the ground, Gabriel knew that they both looked at him.

He didn't turn to face them, as he was slowly calming down, and eventually, Jack spoke. "What the hell was that Reyes?!"

However, instead of answering, Gabriel simply began to stand up. He did it very slowly, yet it didn't look like it was because of wounds, but instead because of tiredness.

When Gabriel finally managed to get up, he turned around, and faced Jack, revealing blood flowing from his broken nose. The blood slowly flowed down Gabriel's face, as he took a single step towards Jack, who maintained his steadfast stare.

The blood slowly crept over Gabriel's mouth, and down on his chin, where it started forming a drop. As they stood and looked at each other, Gabriel noticed the rest of the team, had formed behind Jack. Eventually, Gabriel opened his blood-covered mouth, and spoke so low, only Jack could hear him.

"If you are ever in need of help, if you are ever at the brink of death, if everything you have ever fought for is jeopardized, don't come crawling to me for help, Morrison. You made a mistake today. One I will never forget."

Gabriel took a single step back, and now spoke so the entire team could hear him.

"If you want Overwatch, and your 'friends', to survive, then you better remember that, Strike Commander." Gabriel said the last two words, as if they caused him actual physical pain.

He gave the rest of the team, a quick glare, before he turned on his heels, and left.

* * *

"Commander." Emily's voice said, over Gabriel's wristwatch, instantly snapping him out of his memory.

"Report." he ordered, and Emily followed it as usual. "The devices are planted, and ready to go, sir." "Good work." Gabriel complimented. A thing he rarely did.

There was a brief moment of silence, before Gabriel continued. "Go to the dropship. It should be able to fly, even with the damage done to it. Take it, and get clear as fast as possible."

"But what about you sir?" Emily asked, however Gabriel simply replied with "Don't think about me."

There was another short silence, before Gabriel spoke ágain. "You have an order. Go!"

"... Yes sir." Emily finally said, and with that, Gabriel ended the call.

As the Blackwatch commander returned to the mirror, another distant memory popped into his head: Ana's memorial service.

The memorial service was a sad occation for many, but not for Gabriel. For him it had been another memory filled with anger. Anger at Jack for not being able to keep her safe, despite him being there.

Gabriel had tried confronting Jack 2 times at the service, but the first time had Jack simply pushed him away.

When he tried a second time, he wouldn't be pushed away again, and his stubbornness had resultet in an aggresive verbal fight, that would've become physical, if Reinhardt hadn't intervened.

As Gabriel opened his eyes, he realized just how much Jack had screwed him over. Jack didn't object to demoting Gabriel and getting his position, he had gotten one of Gabriel's once closest friends killed, he had stolen almost everything from Gabriel, and now he was running the organization, Gabriel poured his life into, into the ground.

Jack had done Gabriel countless injustices over the years, and now he was even destroying Overwatch.

"And now he'll finally get the justice he deserves" Gabriel said to himself, as he exited his dark room.

* * *

 **A/N: Just so you know, I do know that Liao was also a member of the original Overwatch strike team. However, so little is known about her, that if I wanted to have her appear, I would have had to make so much up about her, she would almost have been another OC. So I just decided to not put her in. On a completely unrelated note: The next chapter will likely take a while longer to finish, than these first ones. I will still try to get it done as quickly as possible, but school, and life, and such things, unfortunatly, still have to take priority. So until then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I still appreciate reviews.**


	4. Justice

The door to Jack's office was much more flamboyant than the rest of the doors in the base, but since he was the Strike Commander, it was to be expected.

Gabriel stood in front of the door, but he didn't enter. Not yet.

Instead, he reached into his pockets, and pulled out his EMP. He knelt down, in front of the panel, connected to the door, and held up the EMP underneath the panel. A small click sound assured him, it'd stuck to the panel, and he let go, to test it.

The device stuck, under the panel, and with that done, Gabriel turned towards the door. He put his hand on the panel, and after a short scan, it glowed green and the door opened, letting Gabriel into the same room as Jack was in.

* * *

The room, Gabriel entered, was brightly illuminated by the orange sun, glowing through the giant window in the back of the room. In front of that window was a chair and desk, flooded with papers, datapads, and other things.

Gabriel looked to his right, only to see a locker. Though closed, it wasn't hard to figure out that there's where he stored his weapons. Close at hand.

"Always prepared. Good to see at least some of my advice have stuck around." Gabriel mumbled, as he began to quietly approach the flooded desk.

"Reports, reports and more reports. And none of them look good." Gabriel concluded, as his eyes surveyed the desk. Suddenly, his eyes caught something. A small switch. Having nothing better to do, he flicked the switch, resulting in a click sound coming from the other side of the desk.

Suddenly struck with curosity, Gabriel moved around the desk, only to see a small secret drawer had been extended out, revealing a small handgun, similar to Gabriel's.

Normally, the Blackwatch Commander, wouldn't pay such an ordinary weapon any mind, since his armor could take it. However, in Jack's hands, any weapon was a dangerous weapon, so it was best not to give him the opportunity.

He grabbed the weapon, and efficently pulled out the clip. He put the, now empty, gun back in the drawer and closed it, making it seem he hadn't touched it.

"What to do with this?" Gabriel asked himself, as he looked at the clip in his hands. Though the handgun he was carrying was similar, it wasn't an exact match, so he couldn't use it himself.

He looked around for a trashbin, or something similar, to dispose of the clip, and eventually found a solution. There was a door, leading out to a small balcony, right next to the window where the sun was shing through.

He swiftly stepped out onto the balcony, and let go of the clip, letting it plummet down towards the river below.

As Gabriel stood, and let the evening sun shine on him, he forgot for just a split second, why he had come here.

Here there were no Jack Morrison to betray him, no Overwatch going down, no Blackwatch squad to disobey him, in favor for Jack. It was only him, the sun shining on him, the wind blowing around him and the water flowing below him.

It was a type of serenity he didn't experience often, but when he did, he cherished it while he could. Gabriel was, if momentarily, at peace.

However, it didn't last, since a small, but noticable, beep behind him snapped him out of his serenity. He turned around, and went inside Again, to see what it was that'd disturbed him, and found a new message at Jack's terminal.

Gabriel was about to turn back, when he saw who'd sent the message: Lena Oxton. Once again struck with curiosity, Gabriel moved in to see what it was she'd sent her commander.

* * *

 _To: Jack Morrison_  
 _From: Lena Oxton_

 _Commander._

 _Belive me, when I say that I only wanted to give some good news, for a change. However I'm afraid I'm only able to bring you more trouble._

 _I tried talking to the one's in charge, but my word alone isn't enough. The reveal of Blackwatch has given everyone who don't like us something to fight with, and they aren't holding back. And I'm afraid that, despite my best efforts, an investegation has been launched. They're even talking about completely shut down Overwatch, in what they're calling "The Petras Act"!_

 _I still can't believe Gabriel approved of those things. I know you might not like this, but please try to talk to him. We need him to explain everything that's been talked about lately, otherwise I think we'll be fighting a losing battle._

 _Hopefully you'll reply soon._  
 _Lena._

* * *

Unbeknownst to Gabriel, he'd gritted his teeth as he'd read the message.

He'd become slightly frustrated at Lena's request for Jack to talk to him, and what she'd said about the things he'd done. She wasn't in those situations where there wasn't a good solution, only a lesser evil. He didn't always approve, but he did what was necessary, and even she should've expected that from him.

Gabriel let out a small sigh, venting a bit of his frustration.

He knew Oxton was a good soldier, however her potential was wasted when she placed her trust in Jack. And she would pay the price for trusting him, when she got Chronal Disassociation. But even after she recovered, she still followed Jack's orders, a decision that made no sense to Gabriel whatsoever.

And now he was making her run around and play politician, when she clearly wasn't one.

Gabriel was unexpectedly shaken out of his thoughts, when he heard something at his left. He looked, to see a door open, and his squad exit it. The Blackwatch Commander suddenly remembered that this office had it's own private debriefing room. He quietly kicked himself, as he saw that the squad was about to exit.

"Didn't know you were here." Gabriel said to his former squad, in a cold voice. They were clearly unaware of his presence, since they all turned around in shock, and once they saw who it was, their eyes widened.

"C-C-Commander?" One of them stuttered, clearly nervous about Gabriel's presence.

"B-But the Strike Commander said you didn't-" The stuttering squadmember continued, but he was cut short when Gabriel unexpectedly jumped over the desk, and started heading towards them.

"My lessons clearly didn't stick." Gabriel said, in a cold and low voice.

"Not only do you disobey me for him, but you expect me to not figure it out!" He said, as he slowly but surely approached them.

"Jack outrank you. We had to do it." Another brave squadmember said, but Gabriel didn't take too kindly to that. He slowly lowered his face, completely engulfing it in shadows, as his brown eyes glared with an immense amount of hatred, which made a few of the squadmembers try to back away.

"We're black ops. We don't take orders from him." Gabriel pointed out. There was a short silence before Gabriek pointed out another thing. "You did this willingly. And I have no use for anyone with such a weak loyalty."

Gabriel slowly pulled back on the right side of his trenchcoat, revealing his shotgun to them, immediately instilling fear in them.

He rested his hand on the shotgun, as he approached his squad, who were slowly beginning to retreat.

"Gabriel!" Jack's voice suddenly said, and everyone turned towards the debriefing room, only to see Jack standing in the doorway.

"Cut it out." He ordered Gabriel in a stern voice.

Gabriel concealed the shotgun at his side, so Jack wouldn't see it prematurely, as he turned his head towards his former squad who were starting to leave.

"You're all dismissed. Permanently." Gabriel said, as the last of his former squad exited, leaving only him and Jack in the room.

There was a moment, where nothing was said, until Jack finally spoke up. "What's with the trenchcoat?"

However, Gabriel didn't respond. Though he wanted to attack Jack, here and now, he knew he had to wait, just a little longer, so he had to subdue his thirst for Jack's blood. At least for now.

"Well, I guess you're here to get an explanation about your squad." Jack said, as he began walking towards his desk.

"What is there to explain, that I can't make out on my own?" Gabriel asked still in his cold voice.

"Just thought you might want to know what I needed them for. But if you don't care, then I'll save my breath." Jack pointed out, as he got behind his desk, and saw the message from Lena.

Instead of continuing to talk to Gabriel, he simply sat down and started reading the message. While he did so, Gabriel slowly turned around, and started walking towards Jack.

As Jack finished reading the mesage, he let out a sigh, before looking at Gabriel, who was still walking towards him.

"I guess since this is open, you've already read it?" Jack asked, and Gabriel simply responded with a nod.

As Gabriel reached Jack's desk, he crossed his arm, and looked at the Srike Commander, who leaned back in his chair.

"This is what happens, when you don't try and clean up your mess." Jack said, in a very accusing tone.

"You make the rest of us seem like we agreed to those things you did, and now we're all paying for it." Jack continued.

"Don't play the wounded party with me." Gabriel responded.

"You know that it was an Overwatch, not Blackwatch, agent who let all this out. You're just as responsible for this, with your inability to keep your people's mouths shut." Gabriel retorted, as he pointed a finger at Jack.

Jack let out a sigh of frustration, as he looked up at Gabriel.

"I know. But how about we wait with throwing accusations around, until we get out of this mess." Jack said.

"You still think you're able to get out of this?" Gabriel suddenly asked, with a mix of disbelief and frustration.

"Yes." Jack simply answered. "I belive that with everyone's help, even your's, we'll be able to make it out of this."

"And why should I help someone who have been screwing me over for the past 20 years?" Gabriel asked. Though it was with a cold voice, there were still traces of anger in it.

"Gabriel..." Jack tried, but Gabriel cut him off. "No! I don't want to listen to anymore of your petty excuses! You have been doing this to me, ever since you got that godforsaken title of 'Strike Commander'! You've had countless opportunities to repent for what you've done, but no. Never, have I gotten as much as a little bit of credit, just a tiny bit appreciation!"

Gabriel stopped, and the room was filled with a sudden, and uncomfortable, silence. The Strike Commander wanted to say something, in response, but Gabriel's sudden burst of anger had left him completetly speechless.

Eventually, Gabriel spoke again. "But... all of the injustices, has taught me an important lesson."

"What?" Jack asked, but carefully, since he could feel something was off.

"It's something about justice." Gabriel elaborated. "I've realized that justice is... an interesting concept. It isn't something that can be boiled down to a few nice sentences, or a few handy written laws. No, justice..."

Gabriel suddenly moved back the right side of his trenchcoat, revealing his shotgun, and with that, his intentions with this visit.

"... is something only the individual can truly enact." Gabriel finished, as his face was once again engulfed in shadows, and he put his hand the shotgun.

In one swift move, Jack lept over his desk, and made a run for the door, as Gabriel pointed his shotgun at him, and pulled the trigger.


	5. A Conflict's Beginning

The sound of the blast from Gabriel's shotgun, rang throughout Jack's office.

Though Gabriel tried hitting Jack, the Strike Commander's reflexes were too quick, and he dogded it, by rolling to the side.

He quickly got back on his feet, and made a run for the door, however Gabriel pulled out the detonator for the EMP he'd placed outide the door.

"You're not getting away that easily, Morrison!" Gabriel almost yelled, as he activiated the detonator in his hand.

At the sound of electric systems being fried, Jack knew he wasn't getting out that way. Instead he turned left, and headed for the locker.

He quickly opened the locker, and placed his hand on his heavy pulse rifle, as he looked towards Gabriel, who was aiming his other shotgun in his direction.

Jack got a solid grib on his rifle, and threw himself back, as Gabriel pulled the trigger, raining shotgun pellets all over the locker, and the area around it.

Surveying his options for cover, Jack didn't find any, so instead he'd have to find a way out. The main door was fried, so that wasn't an option. His personal debriefing room was a dead end, so that wouldn't work either. The exit out to his balcony was the only option left. But once he got out there, he wouldn't have anywhere to go. He would have to go out the main door. But it was fried, and no one would notice, and come to help in time, unless they were instructed to do so. And then he remembered: His desk had a transmitter, from where he could call for help.

Jack looked towards his desk, and saw Gabriel standing in front of it, reloading his shotgun. He would have to make it past Gabriel.

The Blackwatch Commander quickly finished reloading, and once again pointed his guns at Jack, as Jack also pointed his pulse rifle at Gabriel.

As they were pointing their guns at each other, no one daring to fire first, they could clearly see the other person's intentions, in their eyes. Jack's eyes were cold, analysing Gabriel and his surroundings, to find the quickest way to defeat his adversary. Gabriel's eyes, on the other hand, were burning with only one desire: Revenge, no matter the cost.

An eeire silence fell over the room, as both adversaries were standing still, both having a tight grip on their weapons.

Eventually, Jack unexpectedly pointed his weapon at the roof over Gabriel's head, and pulled his trigger forward, launching his helix rockets.

They quickly made contact with the roof, and though it didn't create a large hole, enough debris fell so Gabriel had to move to the side.

He swiftly did so, letting his guard down for only a split second. However that was still enough for Jack to capitalize on.

The Strike Commander quickly dashed forward, towards Gabriel. He reached the Blackwatch Commander and hit him in the head with the stock of his rifle, knocking him on his knees. Jack acted quick, and used the short time Gabriel was down, to jump over him, and to the other side of his desk.

He quickly found the button, which activated the transmitter, and without a second thought pressed it. A small light on his monitor glowed green signaling he could speak.

"Everyone, this is your commander!" Jack immediately said.

"Reyes has gone mad, and he's locked us in my office. He trying to eliminate me, I need..."

The message was abrubtly stopped, when Jack felt something hit his head, knocking him back. He looked up, and saw Gabriel standing on his desk.

"This is between you and me, Morrison. But know I'll dispose of anyone you put in my way." Gabriel said, as he once again pointed his shotgun at Jack.

Looking after his rifle, Jack found it lying a few meters to his left, out of his immediate range. All he could reach was a datapad. He reacted quickly, and threw the datapad at Gabriel, who shot it, shattering it, and while he did so, Jack threw himslef to his left, grabbing his rifle.

He turned around a fired a few shots at Gabriel, who was forced to take cover on the other side of the desk.

Jack slowly crawled to the other side of his desk, as he spoke to Gabriel, trying to distract him until help arrived. "You can't win Reyes. They'll get here shortly, and when they do, you'll be outnumbered. You'll be fighting a suicide mission!"

There was a short silence, until Jack heard Gabriel's voice from the other side of the desk. "Ha. You always think you're going to win, even when you're not. Didn't you ever wonder where the last of my squad was? Didn't you ever think too few showed up?"

"What the hell do you mean?" Jack asked, still trying to keep him talking.

"The last person who was ever truly loyal to me. I had her set up a... different solution, in case this one failed." Gabriel continued, followed by a short break. Eventually he continued.

"Even if you win this battle, Morrison, you'll still lose the war. And if making sure you get the justice you deserve, will mean I lose my own life..."

Jack heard Gabriel move, and he looked up, to see Gabriel standing on his desk, with his face still engulfed in shadows. "... then so be it." He finished, as he pointed his shotgun at Jack's face.

Not thinking about what he did, and simply reacting out of instinct, Jack reached up, and grabbed the barrel of Gabriel's shotgun, and then pulled down, pulling the suprised Blackwatch Commader along.

Gabriel landed right in front of Jack, with a small 'thump', and his shotguns landed right next to his hands. Jack quickly got up, and kicked Gabriel's shotguns away, before pointing his rifle at Gabriel himself.

"You're done." Jack said. However, to his surprise, Gabriel responded with a simple "No." as he suddenly swept Jack's feet away under him, also throwing him onto the ground.

Gabriel swiftly rolled on top of Jack, and started fiercely punching him.

As Gabriel was about to throw another punch, Jack unexpectedly blocked it, with his arm, and punched Gabriel in his face, throwing him off.

The quickly recovered Strike Commander swiftly rolled on top of Gabriel, and put his hands on Gabriel's throat, not intending to kill him, but simply make him go unconscious.

The, now desperate, Gabriel tried reaching around for anything he could use. Eventually, his hand touched something, and Gabriel looked, to see it was one of his shotguns.

He quickly got a grip on the shotgun, and flung it at Jack, hitting him in the face and knocking him off. He then rolled around, and got on his knees, as he regained his breath.

After a few short seconds, Gabriel looked over at Jack, only to see the commander was feeling his face for any injuries. With his back turned to Gabriel.

Gabriel slowly got up, and started sneaking up on the unknowing Strike Commander. Just a few steps, and he was already right behind him. In one swift, and violent, motion, Gabriel turned Jack around, and grabbed his throat, as he pressed him back against the desk.

He tried to choke him, just like Jack had, however, the difference here was that he intended to kill him.

"Say goodbye to your pathetic life." Gabriel whispered through gritted teeth, as he used all of his strength to keep Jack from getting loose.

As Gabriel was slowly squeezing out Jack's life, the Strike Commander's face was turning a dark red, as he tried getting the breath Gabriel denied him.

When Jack was almost unconscious, a sudden sound from the main entreance to the room, made Gabriel look up. To his surprise, the door had opened, and a young woman was standing right outside it. Probably a repair technician.

When she saw where Gabriel's hands were, her eyes widened, and she slowly began backing away. Gabriel briefly thought about whether she'd be a problem when he had to leave.

In his brief moment of absentmindedness, Gabriel, unintentionally, gave Jack the opportunity he needed. The Strike Commander used whatever strength he had left in his body, to hit Gabriel on the forehead. It wasn't a hard hit, but it was enough for him to be surprised, and loosen his grip on Jack.

As Gabriel loosened his grip, Jack unexpectedly gabbed his hands, and pushed them away, as he jumped over the desk and immediately rushed out the main door, as he grabbed his rifle along the way.

Furious that Jack had gotten away, Gabriel grabbed his shotguns, and quickly followed Jack out the door. However, the second he stepped out the door, he was greeted by something unexpected: His former squad pointing their guns at him.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger, but I felt that this was a good place to end. The next chapter shouldn't take any longer than usual to write, so until then, I hope you enjoyed this, and I hope you'll continue to follow this story!**


	6. You Force my Hand

**A/N: And that's the 6th chapter done. Up until this point, the M rating has mostly been for swearing, and a little bit of blood, but with this chapter, well... Let's just say that this story now really is a M-rated story. But why? Well, if you can't figure it out, you'll know once you've read this chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Move aside. Now." Gabriel said, in a voice that made it clear that he didn't want to talk.

"Boss, please try and think about this." One of his squadmembers pleaded, not wanting to fight his former commander.

"What is there to think about, Jackson?" Gabriel coldly replied, now directly targeting the squadmember who'd spoken to him, Jackson. There was a short silence, before Gabriel continued.

"For 7 years we've had each other's back. We've taken down major enemies, to what we fight for, and we've fought through thick and thin. And now you're all throwing all of that out the fucking window, because this jackass..." Gabriel said, as he pointed one of his shotguns at Jack. "... tells you to do so? Fucking really?!" Gabriel finished, not a single trace of sadness in his voice, only pure rage.

An uneasy silence fell over the room, as no one really knew how to respond to Gabriel's rant. Eventually, another one of Gabriel's former squadmembers spoke up.

"We have to! Look at yourself, you're acting like a madman! Attacking the Strike Commander without any real reason, you've gone insane!" He tried, however his sloppy choice of words only managed to infuriate Gabriel even further.

"Without any real reason? Without any real reason?! Are you fucking serious? Are you completely blind, or have you just forgotten all the times I've shown hate towards that imbecile, of a Strike Commander?! You don't need to be a fucking detective to figure that out!" Gabriel spat, absolutely seething with anger.

The amount of insults, Gabriel hurled, completely surprsed everyone, except Jack, who knew how Gabriel was like, when he was angry.

For a few seconds, nothing moved, and nothing was heard, apart from Gabriel's panting. But eventually, Gabriel straightend his back, and looked directly at Jack. He slowly started walking towards the Strike Commander, as he got his breath under control.

When Gabriel was only a few steps away from Jack, the squadmember closest to him, suddenly pointed his gun at the unfazed Blackwatch Commander.

Gabriel simply turned his head, and looked straight down the barrel of the gun, being held up against him, before slowly looking back at Jack.

"Do you order these men to defend you?" Gabriel suddenly asked, as he continued to look at Jack, with eyes that almost glowed of anger. Jack's expression briefly showed a bit of confusion at the seemingly random question.

The Strike Commander quickly regained his composure, and looked straight back into Gabriel's eyes, as he answered "Unlike you, I accept help from others, when it's offered."

The statement that seemingly should have pissed Gabriel off even more, did nothing to him, to everyone's surprise, as the Blackwatch Commander simply took a deep breath, before, once again, looking that the squadmember who was pointing his gun at his former commander.

"You remember what I said back in your office, a few minutes ago?" Gabriel asked, still directed at the gradually more confused Strike Commander.

"Which?" Jack snapped back, getting gradually more frustrated at Gabriel's cryptic question.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Gabriel grabbed the shoulder, of the squadmember who'd pointed his gun at Gabriel, and rammed him into the wall. The, suddenly bloodthirsty Blackwatch Commander, then raised him off the ground and held him in just one hand, as the other held his shotgun up against the squadmembers chin.

"That I'd dispose of anyone you'd put in my way." Gabriel said, still directed at Jack, as he stared into the terrified eyes of the squamember he was holding.

Realizing what Gabriel was planning to do, Jack took a careful step forward, and raised his hand, as he tried to avoid unneeded bloodshed. "Gabe, please, try and think about this..."

However, instead of answering Jack's pleads, Gabriel turned his head, and looked at his former squad. And pulled the trigger.

In a single moment, 7 pellets were shot into the head of the helpless squadmember, blowing the top of his head off, and smearing the wall behind him with blood, and the inside of his head, as his lifeless corpse fell to the ground.

"Oh god..." One of the squadmembers said, as Jack turned around, as he almost whispered "Jesus Gabriel..." It wasn't because they hadn't seen blood before, but because they never expected Gabriel to do such a thing to one of his own men.

As if in sync, all of Gabriel's former squadmembers simultaneously pointed their guns at him, desiring revenge. However, doing so made Gabriel turn his head towards them once again, allowing them to see the blood-covered, unempathetic, face of their former commander.

"Run." Was all Gabriel said, however it had the opposite effect. "You just killed him!" One of his former squadmembers said, with clear anger in his voice. "You always taught to fight for what we think is right, and now, you being put down, like the mad dog you are, seem like the right thing to do."

"Very well then." Was all Gabriel said, before he jumped towards them like a wild animal, not giving them any time to avoid him.

He barged into the squamember closest to him, knocking him over, before immediately grabbing the barrel of a second squadmembers gun, and swung it at a third, knocking him back, and with his other arm, he shot the fourth squadmember in the leg with his shotgun.

The second squadmember, suddenly came at Gabriel, at a surprising speed, and tried punching him. But the Blackwatch Commander was too quick, as he dogded the attack, and, in a swift move, put his arm around the unprepared squadmembers neck. He held the powerless squadmember in his arm for a few seconds, before their former commander violently jerked the squadmember's head, to the left, snapping his neck. Gabriel, seemingly unfazed, let go of the lifeless body, and it fell to the floor.

"NO!" The fallen squadmember shouted, before getting up, and looking down to grab his gun. He quickly found it, and reached out for it, however, when he looked up again, all he could see was the barrel of Gabriel's shotgun pointed at his face. Without a single word, Gabriel pulled the trigger, launching another 7 pellets into another unfortunate squadmember's head, killing him instantly. The deceased squadmember, fell back at the force of the hit, letting everyone see his bloody, mutilated, face, with missing flesh were the 7 pellets had hit.

Gabriel briefly looked up at the remaining two members of his former squad. The one he'd shot in the leg, was still whimpering about it, on the floor, however, to Gabriel's surprise, he couldn't see the one he'd hit in the head.

"Must've run off." Gabriel mumbled to himself, as he looked at Jack, who simply looking at Gabriel with disbelief and shock in his eyes.

"This is your fault!" Gabriel shouted across the hallway, in a taunting way. "I gave you a warning, and yet you still ordered them to defend you. Their deaths are on your..." However, he was unexpectedly cut short, when he felt a knife around his throat, and a hand grabbing his shotgun from behind.

"Stop. Right. There." The missing squadmember ordered from behind, as he forcefully grabbed Gabriel's shotgun and threw it away.

To everyone's surprise, Gabriel started lightly chuckling, before suddenly grabbing the blade of the knife, being held at his throat. He gripped it tightly, as he felt the edge cut into his hand, letting blood flow freely, but he didn't care. He simply held it, as his other hand crept in between his back, and the front of the squadmember holding the knife. Then, all at once, his hand around the knife yanked it with so much force, it pulled the blade from the shaft, as his hand behind his back, pushed the surprised squadmember back.

In one swift move, Gabriel charged the dazed squadmember, with the blade still in hand. Once, the bloodthirsty Blackwatch Commander, was close enough, he slit the blade across his former squadmembers throat. As the dying squadmember, unsuccessfully, tried to keep the blood inside his throat, Gabriel violently stabbed him twice in his side, letting blood flow freely from there as well, before he drove the blade deep into the squadmembers head, and finally letting go of it.

The bleeding squadmember, fell to his knees, as he made a few gurgling noises, before finally falling over, dead.

Satisfied with his work, Gabriel turned towards the last of his squad, who was still snivelling on the floor. As he slowly began approaching the injured squadmember, the squadmembers eyes widened in fear, and he tried talking Gabriel down. "N-No, boss... P-P-Please d-don't... C-C-Can't you see that w-we had no choice? P-Please!"

"Quit your whining." Gabriel coldly said, making the terrified squadmember curl up in fear. Gabriel let out a grunt of annoyance at the cowardly person before him, before gabbing his shotgun, and shooting the squadmember's other leg.

"AARG! Please, no more..." The squadmember pleaded, however Gabriel was only getting more annoyed at the coward.

"Pathetic." Was the only thing the unmoved Blackwatch Commader said, before unexpectedly kneeling down over the squadmember, and placing his hands on the side of the confused squadmember's head. Gabriel quickly looked at Jack, who was too shocked to do anything, before looking back at the squadmember he was about to kill.

He slowly placed his thumps over the horrified squadmember's eyes, before slowly applying more and more pressure. As Gabriel slowly buried his thumps deeper and deeper into the suffering squadmembers eye sockets, the squadmembers screams of agony became louder and louder. However, Gabriel remined unfazed, and simply continued to press his thumps deeper and deeper, eventually leading to blood flowing from the eye sockets. After, what felt like an eternity, the squadmember's screams slowly died out, and soon after, he was dead.

Gabriel slowly pulled out his thumps, before standing up, grabbing his shotguns, and looking at Jack, who was appalled by the sight before him. The hallway before him had been transformed, from a clean corridor, to a dirty slaughterhouse. The 5 bodies lying around the hallway were all disfigured in one way or another, and in the middle of it all, Gabriel stood, covered in the blood of his former squad. "Fucking hell, Reyes..." Was all he could muster at that moment.

As Gabriel slowly began approaching the Strike Commander, he placed his hands on his shotguns, which made some of the blood on his blood-soaked hands run down along it's sides.

"Your turn, Morrison." Gabriel said, through his blood-covered mouth.


	7. The Other Solution

Gabriel slowly walked towards Jack, with his blood-covered shotguns in his hands.

Still frozen in shock, Jack looked into Gabriel's eyes, trying to find any sign of the man he once knew. However, all he could see was a look of bloodthirst and no remorse, whatsoever.

And then Jack realized something. Whoever it was that stood before him, it wasn't the same person who he'd fought with, all those years ago. Instead, this was a person, consumed with the desire for revenge, and who didn't care what it took to achieve it. Gabriel was beyond saving, and all Jack could do was to put him down, before he hurt anymore people, in his quest for Jack's death.

Jack let out a sigh, as he opened his eyes, and pointed his rifle at Gabriel, who stopped dead in his tracks, before briefly looking at the weapon being held up against him.

"Finally going to fight your own battles?" Gabriel asked, tauntingly.

"I wish it didn't have to come to this..." Jack started, sounding both sorry and determined. "... but if you're willing to go that far, just to kill me..." Jack then said, as he nodded towards the 5 mutilated corpses behind Gabriel. "... then you need to be put down. Then I need to put you down."

As Jack finished his speech, he looked at Gabriel with a sorrowful look, before adding "I'm... sorry."

For a split second, Gariel's expression changed from murderous, to baffled at the unexpected apology. However, he quickly composed himself, and narrowed his eyes, as he whisperes "Like hell you are."

Gabriel suddenly raised his shotgun, and swiftly fired a shot in Jack's direction. None of them directly hit the Strike Commander, however, he instinctively raised his free hand, to protect his face. When Jack lowered his arm, and opened his eyes, he only managed to see Gabriel's fist before it connected with his face.

Stumbling a few steps back, Jack quickly regained his balance, and looked up to see Gabriel pointing his shotgun at his chest. He reacted out of instinct, and jumped forward, before hitting the surprised Gabriel on the forehead, with his rifle's stock.

Slightly surprised over the sudden assult, Gabriel put his hand over his hurting forehead, before looking at Jack who was pointing his rifle straight at Gabriel.

"Give up already." Jack said, as he looked at Gabriel and saw something. He was much more exhausted than Jack, due to the fight with his squadmembers. If Jack could wear him down, he might not be needing to kill him, here and now.

Though Gabriel was a little tired, his desire for Jack's death was much greater, and made him almost oblivious to his tiredness.

"Never!" Gabriel replied, before taking at shot in Jack's direction. The Strike Commander dodged to the right, since Gabriel was close enough to do real damage, and landed on his knee, before looking up to see Gabriel pointing his other shotgun at him. Reacting quick, Jack pointed his rifle at Gabriel and fired his helix rockets, forcing the slightly tired Blackwatch Commander to dodge.

Gabriel, underestimating the rockets' power, took a too short step to the left, dodging the rockets themselves, however not the blast they made, when they hit the wall behind him. The blast behind him, knocked Gabriel a few meters forward, and threw him off balance, for a few seconds. Enough for Jack to quickly, and accurately, shoot Gabriel's exposed shotguns, rendering them useless.

As Gabriel recovered from the helix rocket's blast, he looked at his shotguns, before throwing them away while mumbling "Useless piece of junk."

He looked up at Jack, who was still pointing his gun at Gabriel, before saying "You want me to kill you, with my own hands? Very well then."

"You're not going to be the one to kill me." Jack responded, before slowly starting to close the distance between him and Gabriel.

"Still think that?" Gabriel asked, seemingly not paying any mind that Jack was coming closer.

"No. I know it." Jack answered, as he was only a few meters away from Gabriel.

Out of nowhere, Gabriel suddenly charged into the Strike Commander, knocking them both onto the ground, as well as Jack's weapon out of Jack's hand.

Suddenly on top of a weapon-less Jack, Gabriel punched him in the face, before grabbing his throat, and squeezing it hard.

Now desperate, Jack tried reaching for his rifle, but it was too far away, so instead he grabbed Gabriel's arms, forced them apart, and headbutted Gabriel's forehead, before placing his feet on the surprised Blackwatch Commader's chest and kicking him off.

Gabriel landed hard on his back, a few meters away from Jack. He quickly looked around, and found Jack's rifle within reach. Thinking about what to do for a second, Gabriel swiftly grabbed Jack's rifle, and reached into his pockets, where he found a grenade, which he activated as he stuck it onto the rifle, and threw it at Jack.

Seeing his rifle coming flying at him, Jack instinctively grabbed it, however when he did so, he heard a beeping which was slowly geting faster and faster.

He turned his rifle around, and saw the grenade ticking down. Once again reacting out of instinct, he threw his rifle away, towards Gabriel. Gabriel, who wasn't prepared to receive the rifle back so quickly, did the only thing he could come up with, and kicked it, mid-air, away from him.

Though Gabriel reacted quickly, he couldn't kick a safe distance away, before the grenade erupted in a fiery explosion, which didn't directly hit anyone. However, the shockwave it sent out hit both of the fighters in the hallway, knocking them into the same wall, a few meters apart, hurting them both. Since Gabriel was closest to the explosion, he was pushed the hardest into the wall, making him go out cold for a few seconds.

* * *

Gabriel groggily opened his eyes, and immediately felt a searing pain in the back of his head. He closed his eyes, and let out a sigh, as he reached behind his head, and didn't feel any immediate damage.

Still with his eyes closed, Gabriel put his hands on the ground and tried getting up, however on the way, his head bumbed into something, and he immediately froze, as he slowly opened his eyes, only to see the barrel of a handgun, pointed at his face, and Jack's face behind it.

Gabriel instinctively tried reaching out for his shotguns, however he quickly remembered what happened to them.

The seemingly beaten Blackwatch Commander, realized there was no way for him to get out of this, so he simply lied back down on the floor, and closed his eyes, with another sigh.

Clearly confused at the lack of resistance, Jack asked "You're not going to continue to try and kill me? You're giving up?"

To Jack's surprise, all that question got out of Gabriel was a low chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Jack demanded.

"We've fought together for so many years, Morrison." Gabriel started, in a low voice. "Didn't you ever learn that I never give up? Even in Blackwatch, I approved of all those things because I never give up, no matter the cost."

"Well, what can you possibly do now? You're alone and disarmed." Jack tried, however Gabriel only let out another low chuckle, before answering.

"No. I'm not alone. I told about the one missing member of my squad? The one who remained loyal to me? The one who set up a different solution?" Gabriel said, in a low voice, almost like he was reminiscing.

"Well, what the hell is that solution?" Jack asked, getting tired of Gabriel's cryptic answers, however all he got was a chuckle from Gabriel, and no answer.

"Urgh, fine." Jack said, in an incredibly annoyed voice, as he went over to a nearby console, and contacted the base's security.

"Commander." A male voice said, on the other end of the console. "One of Gabriel's squadmembers didn't show up. Find out where he or she went." He ordered.

"Got it." The voice on the other end said, followed by a few seconds of silence, before he spoke again.

"Found her. A couple of minutes after you sent out the message, she entered the main reactor, and then left again a short minute later."

"The main reactor." Jack mumbled to himself, as he looked over at Gabriel, who still wasn't moving.

"Why would she go there?" Jack continued to mumble.

"I don't know, but I've found something else." The voice said. "Shoot." Jack responded.

"Once she was done in the main reactor, she talked with someone over her wristwatch, before going back to the Blackwatch dropship, and leaving in it." The voice told.

"Wait, what?" Jack suddenly said, as he once again turned towards the console. "You're sure she left in the blackwatch ship?"

"She left in the black one." The voice explained.

"Well then... that's all for now." Jack said, followed by a short "Commander." from the voice, before Jack began walking towards Gabriel.

"Why'd you order her to leave you behind?" Jack asked, when he was a few meters away from Gabriel.

"Because it's what a good leader does, protecting those under his command." Gabriel answered, still just lying on the floor.

"Protect her from what? Your rampage?" Jack asked.

In a swift move, Gabriel suddenly sat up, and looked straight into Jack's eyes, as one of his hands reached into his pockets. Slightly surprised at the sudden move, Jack pointed his gun at him.

"The reactor, powering this entire base." Gabriel said, as a thought suddenly crept inside Jack's head.

"What could a tech specialist, clearly not obeying the one in charge here, do in such a place, that would require her to hastily leave afterwards?" Gabriel continued, and the thought in Jack's head kept growing, as the Strike Commander asked "Did you..."

"I said I would do anything if it meant you got the justice you deserve Morrison." Gabriel cut him off. Jack unexpecdedly heard a beep from inside Gabriel's pocket, before the Blackwatch Commander said "Even if I would die doing so." as he pulled out an activated detonator, confirming Jack's thought that he intended to blow the entire base up.

* * *

 **A/N: And so, another chapter ends, with another cliffhanger. I got feeling that a lot of future chapters will also end with a cliffhanger, but, then again, maybe they don't. Only the future can truly tell. Anyway, hope you enjoyed, and I still appreciate reviews.**


	8. Fires of War

**A/N: Sorry for not updating for a while, but my life have just been kinda crazy lately. The summer vacation is almost here, Injustice 2 just released and something happened that forced me to take it easy in my everyday, so in short: A lot of shit has happened. But I'll still try and update as frequently as possible. Now that that's out of the way, here's chapter 8. Enjoy!**

* * *

"EVACUATE THE ENTIRE BASE IMMEDIATELY!" Jack shouted, into the wristwatch he'd grapped from the console.

"What's going on?!" A voice said, on the other end.

"Reyes is intending to blow up the main reactor, and in turn, the entire base!" Jack quickly explained, as he ran through the base, towards the reactor. "I'm going to need a team of tech specialists to meet me at the reactor, but we still need everyone out, in case we fail."

"Understood. I'll sound the alarm, and alert a team." the voice said, sounding a bit shaken over the dramatic news.

As Jack continued to run through the base, almost everyone looked at him with confusion. However, they didn't do so for long, since all of the sudden, the alarm sounded throughout the entire base, and all the lights turned red, as a robotic voice spoke over the comm.

"All personnel must find the nearest exit, and evacuate, unless given different orders by security, or the commander." The robotic voice repeated several times, as people franically began running in the opposite direction of Jack.

As Jack continued to run through the base, he turned right, and found himself in the base's dining area. He stopped for a few seconds, and surveyed the area. The door he had to go through was in the other corner of the room, where three long tables stood.

The Strike Commander reached d

own to his wristwatch, and contacted the same person as before, as he began to walk towards the door.

"Is the specialists ready?" Jack asked.

"I've alerted them, and they're on their way towards your location." The voice said.

"Good. If anything happens, update me." Jack ordered, before ending the call.

Jack began to run through the red dining room, and quickly made it to the door on the other side. He opened it, and continued to run, as the amount of people who ran in the opposite direction began to thin out. Eventually, it was just him, running through the red corridors.

It didn't take more than a few minutes for Jack to reach his destination: A door, with a sign that read 'Main Reactor Control Center' over it. He entered the red room, and was greeted by 3 people, standing in front of a window, where you could see the main reactor, and the different metal platforms that surrounded it.

The 3 people present turned their heads, and once they saw who it was, they saluted, as they simultaneously said "Commander."

"You're the specialist team?" Jack asked, finding no time to be formal, as he closed the door behind him.

"Affirmative." One of the members, a small brunette, answered.

"How much do you know?" Jack inquired.

"Just that there are three explosives planted here, and that we're supposed to stop them. Why? Something we should know?" The second squadmember, a muscular bald man, answered.

"...No, nothing." Jack answered, after a short silence, where he decided it best that they were spared the tale of Gabriel's rampage.

"Well, let's get to work." Jack said. "As you know, there are three explosives in there. Each of you will go and disarm one of them, while I'll stay here and monitor the situation. If anything, just the smallest thing, semms out of the ordinary, call. Me. Immediately. Got it?" Jack ordered, not wanting to take any risks whatsoever.

"Yes, sir!" All three specialists said at once.

As Jack went over to the command console, which overlooked the reactor, the three specialists went into the decontamination chamber.

* * *

Gabriel's panting could be heard throughout the corridors of the base, as he ran through it, chasing after Jack.

Jack had, in his sudden rush, left him unchecked, and Gabriel wasn't going to let this opportunity slip past him.

Gabriel continued to run through the empty, red hallways, towards the main reactor. Though he hadn't seen Jack go in, he knew Jack well enough to know that he was going to try and disarm the explosives, and thus, rob Gabriel of his revenge. And that was something Gabriel couldn't allow.

The adrenaline-filled Blackwatch Commander, turned a sharp corner and could, at the end, see the sign that read 'Main Reactor Control Center'.

Gabriel ran towards it, however he stopped when he finally reached it, since he could hear Jack's voice inside.

Not wanting to rush in, Gabriel leaned towards the door, to try and hear what Jack said.

"... Each of you will go and disarm one of them, while I'll stay here and..." Gabriel pulled away, since he didn't need to hear anymore.

Jack was sending three people in do his dirty work for him, and even if they might not be trained to kill, they could still pose a challenge to Gabriel, if left unchecked.

Gabriel began trotting around, as he tried to come up with a plan for what to do. His eyes looked around, and inadvertently saw something: Another smaller door to the right with a sign that read "Decontamination Maintenance".

For a second, Gabriel couldn't remeber what that room was used for, but then it popped into his head. It was there the machinery was fixed, and the liquid, that was sprayed in the chamber itself, was refilled when there wasn't much left.

A devious smile crept upon Gabriel's face, as he reached into his pockets, and pulled out his last grenade.

Being careful not to be heard, Gabriel entered the smaller room.

* * *

"Decontamination in progress" A feminine robotic voice said, from the console where Jack stood.

The tired Strike Commander let out a rather loud sigh, as he looked inside the decontamination room, where the three specialists stood, and was getting sprayed with the radiation-repelling liquid, Winston had helped develop all those years ago.

Jack had never been a fan of the amount of time it took to get ready to enter the main reactor, especially now, when they where under pressure.

"How long 'til you're ready?" Jack asked over comm, unsuccessfully trying to hide the impatience in his voice.

"Just a minute. We should make sure this stuff sticks." The muscular man answered, from inside the chamber.

"Fine." Jack simply responded, ending the conversation. Not having anything else to do, he stood and overlooked the generator, that powered the base. It wasn't very wide, however it was pretty high, over 50 meters at least.

Jack stood like that for a few seconds, before he, unexpectedly, heard the door behind him open.

"Who...?" Jack started, as he turned around, however he was quickly silenced by a gunshot, that flew right past his face, and hit the glass behind him.

"Don't. Fucking. Move." Gabriel hissed, as he stood in the doorway, with a handgun of his own pointed at Jack's face.

"Didn't think you'd recover that quick." Jack remarked.

"I've got the same shit in me as you. Did you forget that?" Gabriel coldly answered.

"I suppose." Jack said, with a shrug, clearly not intimidated by the gun being pointed at his face. "What're you going to do now? Kill me?" Jack then said, a sudden seriousness present in his voice.

"Of course." Gabriel said, like it was obvious. "But first..." He suddenly added, shifting his gaze towards the window to the decontamination champer.

"I need to teach a lesson." Gabriel continued, as his other hand slowly crept into his pockets.

"What lesson?" Jack asked, suddenly worried over what Gabriel was going to do.

"That following you is a death setence." Gabriel slowly said, as his hand pulled out a grenade from his pockets, making Jack even more nervous.

"That following you..." Gabriel repeated, as he put his finger in the grenade's pin, seemingly intending to blow everyone up. "... only results in death, because you only know how to take lives, not save them." Gabriel ended, before letting go of the grenade, dropping it to the floor, and pulling out the pin.

Jack could do nothing, but stand and watch helplessly, as the grenade made it's way to floor. However, when it landed it made a hollow sound, which peaked Jack's curiosity.

After landing, the grenade rolled over revealing something: It was empty.

There was a hole in the grenade, and inside there was nothing.

At first, Jack was confused, but then Gabriel unexpectedly aimed his gun towards the window to the decontamination chamber, and Jack knew what he had done. The Strike Commander looked inside the decontamination chamber, where the three specialists stood, being covered in the grenade's explosive liquid, instead of the radiation-repelling.

Gabriel pulled the trigger, and the bullet hit the glass, making several cracks in it, but not breaking it.

He pulled the trigger again, and this time the glass shattered, leaving sharp pieces both inside and outside the decontamination chamber.

The three specialists looked out in confusion, and the brunette asked "What's going on?" however, the helpless Strike Commander simply gave them an apologetic look, and whispered "I'm sorry." before Gabriel pulled the trigger a third time.

The bullet quickly made it's way through the room, and into the decontamination chamber, where it ignited the explosive liquid inside. The chamber was filled with flames, in seconds, and it sent out a shockwave, like in the hallway, knocking Jack back, as he could hear the specialists' screams of agony as they were being scorched in the inferno.

* * *

 **A/N: Just so you know, I do know that grenades don't work like that, and that there isn't any magical radiation-repelling liquid you can just spray on your body. It was just gibberish I made up, for the sake of the story, and yet... I don't think these things are the most unplausible things in Overwatch. I'll try to get the next chapter done as quickly as usual, but like I said... my life is kinda crazy right now. But I hope you enjoyed it, and that you'll stick around for the next chapters!**


	9. Victory, at any Cost

Jack groggily opened his eyes, and looked around. He was lying on the floor in the control room, and Gabriel was standing in the doorway, looking at something.

The battered Strike Commander, looked at what Gabriel was looking at, and when he did, he jolted and sat straight up, at the horrific sight before him.

One of the specialists corpses was hanging out of the shattered window. It's skin was burned beyond repair, almost completely black, and there were places the skin was burned completely off, exposing the fleshy insides, that let the blood run freely down it's sides.

Jack's face was almost paralyzed at the sight of another grusome murder at the hands of Gabriel, but, somehow, his body managed to slowly raise itself. As Jack could see more and more of the burned decontamination chamber, he could see two similar looking corpses.

Jack turned his head, and looked at Gabriel, who was simply staring at the corpses with cold stare. And then something just snapped in Jack. Those people were innocent, they were tech specialists, not a threat to Gabriel, and yet, he still killed them in a painful way.

Gabriel indifferently turned his head towards Jack, and pointed his gun at Jack. "Your turn." He simply said.

"I thought..." Jack suddenly began, in an unsure tone. "... that what you were doing, was getting back at me, but... I can now see that I was wrong. You've just finally found an excuse to let your murderous nature free."

"What are you talking about?" Gabriel asked, sincerely confused at what Jack was saying, however Jack just continued.

"I don't know why I ever trusted you, but I know that doing so was a mistake." he said, as he raised his head, and looked Gabriel straight in the eyes, as his voice suddenly became clear and threatening.

"You're a fucking homicidal psychopath, and I will not let you take one. More. Life." Jack finished, before unexpectedly pulling out his own handgun, and, without hesitation, fired at Gabriel.

The surprised Blackwatch Commander managed to move his head enough so that the bullet didn't hit his head, but not enough so that it didn't hit his ear.

He quickly put a hand up against the bleeding ear, but in doing so, he exposed himself to Jack, who suddenly came running at him, knocking Gabriel's handgun out of his hand, and Gabriel himelf down on the floor.

Jack aimed for Gabriel's head, but the Blackwatch Commander reacted quickly, and rolled out of the way, making Jack hit the floor, before sweeping Jack's feet away from under him.

Jack landed hard on his back, and Gabriel quickly got on top of him, while his eyes once again almost glowed with his hatred for Jack.

As Gabriel put his hands on Jack's throat, the Strike Commander hit him on the head, knocking him off, before rolling on top of him, and aiming for his head once again.

Gabriel responded by swiftly placing his feet on Jack's chest, before using them to push the Strike Commander off him, and straight through the glass, shattering it.

The slightly dazed Strike Commader, landed on the metal platform on the other side of the control room, and began tumbling towards the edge. As he rolled out over the edge, he just managed to grab onto the platform, letting go of his handgun.

Jack frantically began looking around for anything he could use to get back up, but he found nothing. He'd have to pull himself up. Jack began to do so, and managed to get his left arm up on the platform, before it was suddenly kicked back off, and he could hear Gabriel saying "Oh no, you don't."

Jack, now hanging in only one hand, looked up, and saw Gabriel looking at him, with a smug grin on his face.

"This..." Gabriel said in a mocking tone. "... is your grave, Morrison. And that..." He said, as he pointed towards the wall, where Jack could see a small device, one of the explosives, were planted. "... is the thing that's going to send you there."

As Gabriel finished talking, he turned around and began walking away.

Realizing he had to do something, Jack placed his left hand back on the platform, and began swinging back and forth, gradually building momentum.

Finally he gathered enough momentum, and he swung himself backwards, one last time, as he let go with his hands, launching him into the back of Gabriel.

The surprised Gabriel lost his balance, and stumbled forward, before falling foward towards the shattered window.

Jack landed on his back, and began to get up, but he froze when he suddenly heard Gabriel scream behind him. He quickly got up, and turned around, only to see Gabriel lying on the floor, with his hands over his face, and a pool of blood gathering under him.

Not feeling any remorse, Jack simply went inside the control room, and picked up Gabriel's gun, before going back out, and pointing at Gabriel's head.

"It's over." Jack said, however to his surprise, Gabriel slowly began to chuckle, before he answered.

"No, it isn't." He said, still with his face covered.

"Why not?" Jack said, in a resistant voice.

"Because you don't have the guts to do what you need to do. If you had, you would've tried to put me in my place a long time ago. But you didn't. And now, you, me and perhaps all of overwatch will fall. So go ahead; Kill me! Become the very thing you've been fighting your entire life."

Gabriel's speech had an unintended effect on Jack. He remembered that just killing Gabriel here and now, wasn't the right thing to do. He would get his justice, just not this way. Just not the wrong way.

"No." Jack said, after a thoughtful silence. "I'm not a murderer. And unlike you, I save lives, not take them."

And with that, Jack threw Gabriel's gun on the floor, and ran towards the explosive, that Gabriel had pointed towards. He quickly reached it, and tore off it's shell.

Inside was three buttons, and three wires, one under each button.

Jack quickly remembered how these kinds of explosives were disarmed, and swiftly switched a few wires, before pushing the buttons in the correct order. A light glowed green, and Jack knew it was disarmed.

However, when Jack turned around to find the other explosives, he realized he didn't know where they were, and that he didn't have time to search the entire reactor. Then he remembered his wristwatch.

"Commander?" The same male voice as always, said.

"Can you scan the main reactor?" Jack asked, jumping straight to the point.

"Er, sure. But what happend to the team I sent you?" The unsure voice asked.

"Reyes happend. Now scan the reactor for any anomilies." Jack ordered in a very impatient voice.

"But what do you mean Reyes ha..." The voice asked, however he was cut short by Jack almost shouting "Do it!"

"... Sure." the voice said followed by a moment of silence, before he spoke again.

"Got it. There's two unauthorised signals coming from the main reactor, and they're both beneath you. Marking it on your eyepiece."

"Thanks." Jack said, as he let out a sigh of relief, before heading towars the nearest ladder.

* * *

As Gabriel was lying on the floor, he took one of his hands off his face, and reached into his pockets.

He pulled out the detonator and looked at it's three green lights, and the countdown, slowly making it's way towards 0.

He then looked towards Jack, who was trying to disarm the explosive.

Gabriel suddenly heard a strange sound, and looked the source of it: The detonator. One of the green lights had turned red. Jack had deactivated one of them.

"No..." Gabriel quietly said to himself, as he looked towards Jack, only to see him get on a ladder and begin to climb down.

"No." Gabriel repeated, as he, still with a hand over the right side of his face, slowly began to stand up.

* * *

Jack ran along the metal platforms, following the path laid out before him on his eyepiece.

Finally, he could see the second explosive. It was planted over another platform, but there was a gap between that platform, and the one Jack was on. The Strike Commander quickly scanned the area for any way over, but he couldn't find any. He'd have to jump.

He took a single step back, and tensed up the muscles in his legs. After a single second, he sat off, running towards the gap, at great speed. The edge of his platform was getting closer, and then, it was right before him, and he jumped.

The Strike Commander soared through the air, for 2 seconds, before his chest slammed into the side of the platform. All the air in his lungs, was immediatly, and violently, kicked out, but he kept going, and, after much struggle, he managed to finally get up.

Taking a moment to get air in his lungs, Jack sat on the floor, for a few seconds. Eventually getting his breath under control, Jack managed to push himself up, and made a short run for the explosive. He reached it, and repeated the process he'd done with the other explosive.

After a few seconds of tinkering, the light glowed green, and the explosive was disarmed.

"Two down, one to go." Jack mumbled to himself, before turning around, looking for the final explosive.

After a swift search, he found it. On the opposite side of the reactor, one level below him.

Jack quickly found a ladder, and headed towards it.

* * *

As Gabriel was slowly making his way towards Jack, he heard a sound, coming from inside his pockets.

Still with one hand over his face, Gabriel put his handgun away, and pulled out the source of the noise: The detonator.

Another one of the lights that were previously green had turned red. Jack had managed to disarm another one, and now there was only one left. If Jack got to that one, Gabriel would've failed, and Jack wouldn't get the justice he deserved.

That thought alone, compelled Gabriel to go faster, but it also filled him with more rage.

With his rage boiling over for a second, Gabriel threw the detonator into the reactor with enough force to make a small crater, where it hit.

The enraged Blackwatch Commander took a single deep breath, before continuing to make his way towards Jack, faster than before.

* * *

Jack finally made his way down to the end of the ladder. He landed with a small _thump_ since he skipped the last steps by simply jumping the last bit of the way.

He turned around, but he still couldn't see the explosive. He'd have to run further along the platform.

Taking a few steps, Jack suddenly froze, when he heard a sound from the platform he'd just climbed down from. Footsteps.

Jack's thoughts immediatly began thinking about who it was taht made those footsteps. Apart from him, Gabriel and the team of specialists, the entire base was evacuated. Gabriel had killed the team of specialists, but Gabriel himself was, as far as Jack knew, incapacitated at the control room.

Still not sure who the footsteps belonged to, Jack stood completely still, and tried listening for them again, but they were gone.

Even though he still wasn't sure whose footsteps he'd heard, Jack decided that it could wait until after he'd disarmed the last explosive. And with that Jack, now more cautiously, began moving closer to the explosive.

After a few steps, Jack turned a corner, and from where he was, he could now see that last explosive.

Eager to finally end this, Jack started running, but he only managed to take a few steps before he was abrubtly stopped by Gabriel.

"Morrison!" Jack heard Gabriel shout from behind him. He turned around, only to see Gabriel ontop of the ladder he'd just climbed down. One of Gabriel's hands was covering the right side of his face, while the other hand was pointing his gun at Jack.

"Gabriel..." Jack tried, while raising his hand, and slowly starting to take small steps backwards.

"No!" Gabriel cut him off. "I am DONE, doing what you tell me to do!" He said, before suddenly jumping all the way down, to the platform Jack was on.

As Jack continued to take small steps backwards, Gabriel began to take slow steps towards Jack.

"Gabriel, please..." Jack once again tried. "Think about what you're doing here."

"NO!" Gabriel shouted in return.

"I AM DONE, thinking about the consequences! I AM DONE, caring about things! I am done, I am UNDONE! BY YOU!" Gabriel continued, as tears started to form in his visible eye. Whether it was from anger, sadness or a bit of both Jack couldn't tell.

"YOU... You've been destroying my life, me, ever since that godsforsaken day you got the title of STRIKE-FUCKING-COMMANDER! Ever since that day, you've done NOTHING, but keep on destroying it! Keep on tearing it apart, limb from limb! Keep on..." Gabriel stopped for a second, as his voice suddenly got unstable.

"... destroying me." He then said, as he lowered his hand, revealing what'd happend to his face.

When Gabriel fell forward, he fell onto a single shard of reinforced glass, that'd hit him in the eye.

And now, as Gabriel stood there, he let Jack see the cut that went over his eye, and made it bleed intensily, from his eye, and the part around his eye that also was cut open.

"I've got nothing left to live for." Gabriel said, in a low voice. "You've taken everything away from me."

"Now all I can do..." Gabriel then said, in a more intense voice. "... is making sure that, when I die, I'll be taking you with me."

There was a short silence, as they both stopped moving.

"I will make sure, no one else will be undone by you. I will make sure that you PAY for what you have done."

Gabriel then narrowed his eyes, and aimed for the explosive, right next to Jack's head. Gabriel turned his gaze towards Jack and whispered loud enough so only Jack could hear it.

"I'll see you in hell... Jack"

And before the Strike Commander could do anything, Gabriel pulled the trigger, firing a bullet into the explosive on the wall, making it go off. The explosion it made wasn't enough to kill the two people present, but it set off a chain reaction in the main reactor, that resulted in a fiery explosion that engulfed the two fighers, before blowing up the entire Swiss Headquarters.

* * *

 **A/N: And thus, Brothers in Arms is finished. Well, not quite. There'll be an epilogue shortly, however, that won't have any Auther's Note, so this is the last of its kind, in this story. So, I just wanted to say: Thanks! Thanks for sticking with this, admittedly short, story, if you began reading when it was first published, but if you jumped on along the way, the I'll just say thanks for taking the time to read this. But being done with this doesn't mean I'm done writing, far from it. So I hope that you'll stick with me in whatever I do in the future. But until then, I'll just once again say: Thanks!**


	10. Epilogue

"Hey Tom, come over here, and play with us. It's not like there's anyone stupid enough to break in."

"Sure." The Helix security guard named Tom replied.

He got up from the chair that was stationed in front of several monitors, showing security footage from all over Watchpoint: Grand Mesa, and walked over to his two buddies, who were sitting and playing poker.

He quickly got dealt a hand, and started playing with the others.

Even though none of them knew how to play poker, when they started at their new jobs, they got a lot of spare time, so eventually they taught themselves the rules. Helix Security hadn't really seen any attempts on Watchpoint: Grand Mesa, ever since they got it from Overwatch.

The three friends sat and played for a few minutes before one of them spoke up.

"Have you guys heard the news?" He asked.

"Depends." Tom responded, in a casual manner. "What news?"

"The news about this guy, who's been running around and raiding all sorts of high-tech equipment." The friend responded.

"A little." Tom responded. "Anything new?" He then asked, since there had to be a reason for it to be brought up.

"Actually yes." His friend answered, sounding really excited to share the news.

"He was apparently spotted in Montrose, but he ran off to the north, when the police arrived."

"What's so special about that?" The other friend asked.

"That's in the direction of this facility." Tom explained, now understanding why his friend was so excited.

"Oh. You think he'll try to bust down our doors?" Tom's other friend asked.

"I dunno, to be honest. But I still think it's something worth thinking about."

"Well, even if he tries, he'll never make it far. We're prepared for pretty much anything." Tom said.

A few minutes, of silent poker, passed, before it was the end of shift for Tom's friends. "Well, see ya tomorrow." They said, before leaving.

"See ya." Tom said, before he impatiently looked at the time. There were still three hours until his shift ended. He let out a loud groan.

Since nothing usually happend on his alone time, Tom decided to try and sleep the three hours away, but as he was about to give it a try, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. One of the screens that usually didn't show any movement, suddenly did.

Curious, Tom looked closer at the monitor, but the light were turned off, so he couldn't really see anything.

"Team 2." Tom said, over the comms. "Can you go and check the southern entrance. It may be nothing, but I think I saw someone enter."

"Not like we got anything better to do." A voice said from the other end, and the team went over to check.

After about two minutes, Tom heard from them again. "We're here. It doesn't look like anyone's... What now Jackson?"

"What is it?" Tom asked.

"Jackson think he saw someone, but he's... wait, I see him too."

Tom silently followed on the monitor, as the team went into a hallway, and a blind spot for the securiy cameras.

"Come out with your hands over your head, and we won't do you any harm! If you don't we will hunt you down!" Tom could hear the leader of team 2 saying over comm.

"You hear me? Come out now!" She said, but it was quickly followed by a "Shit, he's running away! Get him!"

Tom could hear as the team began to chase down the intruder, and he could now see how the intruder looked. He wore a visor over his face, only revealing his white hair. He had a leather jacket, and combat boots on, and he looked very muscular.

The intruder turned a sharp corner, out of view of the cameras, and team 2 followed shortly, but when they turned the corner, they stopped.

"He's gone." The leader said over comm.

"What do you mean he's gone?" Tom asked.

"That! He's gone, vanished dissapeared." The leader responded.

"Goddammit." Tom said, before signaling the alarm.

"There's an intruder in the base. Team 5 and 6, go to the vault, and guard it. The rest of you, search the base." He said over comms, and was quickly answered by all team leaders answering "Got it."

Unfortunetly, when Team 5 and 6 reached the vault full of advanced technology, they contacted Tom. "He's already here. And it looks like he's going for the pulse rifle."

"The pulse rifle? Stop him!" Tom said, desperately.

The two teams quickly entered the vault, but the intruder heard them, and swiftly flung one of the other devices from the vault at them. A sleeping gas grenade.

"Commander? Commander!" Tom tried, but all members of team 5 and 6 were fast asleep, and the intruder ran off.

"All teams!" Tom said, over comm. "The intruder's trying to escape. He's going for the same entrance he got in. I'm closing the doors, but you still need to apprehend him."

The intruder ran towards the entrance, but Tom had already closed it, and when he made it there, he tried turning arund, only to see the entire bases defence force pinting their guns at him.

"Drop the tech! NOW!" One of the commaders shouted, but the intruder didn't oblige.

Instead he pointed the newly aquired pulse rifle at the closed door, and fired the Helix rockets, blowing the door open, in a fiery explosion.

The intruder swiftly dashed out of the base, and all Tom could do was to take a picture of the intruder so they could hunt him down later. A picture the showed a muscular man running into the night, wearing a leather jacket with "76" written on the back.

* * *

The rain was pouring down, in the middle of the night, making anyone who might've wanted to go outside, stay in.

Most of the streets were empty, except one. In one of the streets, a single man was trotting along, with a black umbrella over his head.

Constantly looking over his shoulder, the man was very tense, and seemingly in a hurry to get home as quickly as possible. Luckily for him, he only lived a few blocks away, and he quickly made it to the building where his apartment was located.

He quickly entered, and almost ran up the stairs to the 5th floor, where he unlocked the door to his left, and swiftly stepped in.

"Honey, I've got bad news." He said, as he closed the door behind him, and made sure it was locked. Not getting any response, he just put his umbrella down, before entering the living room, and putting a stack of papers he'd been carrying down on the table.

"Someone's discovered us. Unfortunetly, we have to move." He then said.

This time noticing the lack of response from his wife, the man slowly looked around, before asking "Honey?"

Immediately on edge, he slowly began to move towards their bedroom. It was a small apartment, so he quickly made to the door. He still didn't hear anything, which made him even more nervous.

In one motion, he opened the door, but the room was as empty as the living room.

Since she wasn't there, the man began to think about where she could be, and then remembered: Maybe she was in their daughters room. Whether his wife was there or not, didn't really matter, since he suddenly realized he had to check on his daughter. She was only half a year, after all.

Suddenly running, he quickly made it to his daughters room, but when he was just outside, he stepped on something.

Curious, he lifted his foot, and picked up the round white object. After a close inspection, he realized it was a pearl, from his wife's necklace. Now certain something had happend, he didn't wait a second longer. He opened the door, and was greeted by his worst nightmare.

The moon was full in the sky, and through the open window, it sent a beam of silverish light, that illuminated the corpse of the mans wife.

She had a knife lying right next to her hand, possibly meaning she fought back against whoever did this. Her face was white, and her eyes just stared blanky into the air. But it was her throat that was the most terrifiying. It was competely torn off, leaving only a bloody mess of flesh and bones, as the throat was lying right next to her face.

"No..." The man whispered, as he took a single absent step into the room. He turned his head towards his daugther's crip, hoping to see her safe, but the red stain on the buttom of the crip told him otherwise.

"No." He whispered again, not being able to believe what he was seeing.

He stood like that for a minute or two, not able to process it all, before he looked down, and saw something wierd. A strange shadow-y smoke was coming from behind him, and almost engulfing his feet in darkness.

He turned around, and completely froze when he saw the source of the smoke.

In the hallway before stood a tall figure, illuminated only by the moonlight from the window. But that was all the widowed man needed to see every detail.

The person wore a long black trenchcoat, over a layer of black combat armor. Shotgun shells were strapped onto his body at several places, but there were no shotguns. The feet of the person was completely engulfed in the shadow-y smoke, and it almost made it seem as if he floated. On his face, under the hood, he wore a deformed skull mask, with black voids for eyes, that looked straight at the widowed man.

"Jason Anderson." The person suddenly said, in a distorted ghostly voice.

"H-How do you know my name? And did you do... this?" Jason stuttered.

"You were a member of Overwatch. That makes you a target. And I never go after my targets unprepared." The man in the hallway, slowly explained.

"As for them..." He said, as he turned his empty gaze towards the corpses.

He slowly raised a hand, revealing that he had metal claws on every finger, but more importantly, those claws were covered in blood. The blood of Jasons wife.

"But... why?!" Jason continued to stutter.

"They got in the way." The ghostly figure simply said.

"Of..." Jason started, but the person in the hallway cut him off.

"Of me getting to you. To kill you." He coldly said.

"Kille me? Why?" Jason continued to ask, being completely lost.

"Didn't you listen?" The person asked, sounding annoyed. "I said you're Overwatch. And every last memory of Overwatch must me eliminated. And that includes you." He said, as he pointed a clawed hand at Jason.

After a short silence, Jason let out a short sigh as he looked at the corpses in the room, before back at the man in the hallway. "Do it then. Kill me."

"What? You're not going to fight back?" The man asked, clearly confused.

"What've I got to live for anymore? You killed them both, might as well finish the job." Jason explained.

Suddenly, the smoke began to engulf one of the hooded man's hands, before pulling back, revealing that a shotgun had appeared in his hand. He then pointed it at Jason's head, while saying "Any last words?"

"Just... tell me the name of the one who took my life." Jason responded.

There was a short silence, before the hooded man spoke.

"Reaper." He said, as he pulled the trigger, killing the former Overwatch agent, and beginning his hunt for anyone who used to work for Overwatch.


End file.
